There’s no shortage of research stressing the need and the benefits of the Sooke Gathering Place.
There’s no shortage of research stressing the need and the benefits of the Sooke Gathering Place.
“The aim of the Sooke Gathering Place is for people to remain in Sooke, living independently with vitality as they age,” said Mary Dunn, Sooke Region Community Health Network vice-president. She added that the Sooke Gathering Place will be a community asset for generations to come.
A recent report by the B.C. government, Age Forward British Columbia’s 50+ Health Strategy and 3-Year Action Plan emphasizes the importance of supporting the health and well-being of older adults to help them thrive and continue to contribute to their communities. It envisions a British Columbia where older adults are empowered, valued, and supported to thrive and maintain their autonomy across the dynamic continuum of aging and places importance on health promotion and prevention.
The report also identifies health promotion and prevention as being one of five focus areas, with a goal to empower adults 50+ to lead active, healthy lives through increased physical activity, nutrition, social engagement, and preventive health care, which can prevent or delay the onset of frailty, falls and fall-related injuries.
“All of these will be addressed in the activities for the Sooke Gathering Place,” Dunn added.
Research by the University of Manitoba Centre on Aging shows that when social activity decreases, there is a rapid decline in motor function.
An additional study shows that among older adults with depression, those who were highly socially active were more than 2.5 times more likely to have improvements in their depressive symptoms within two years than those with low social activity, and interventions that combined structured social activity with light intensity exercises such as card games or croquet significantly improved older adults’ memory function and sleep.
According to a 2002 study that covered a range of five years, the rate of cognitive decline was reduced by an average of 70 per cent in older adults who were frequently socially active, compared to those who were infrequently socially active. Older adults who participated daily or weekly in social activity had a 40 per cent reduced risk of developing dementia, Dunn noted.
A 2013 University of Manitoba’s Centre on Aging Seniors Centre report indicates older women who participated in organizational activities or study circles had half the likelihood of dying within a twelve-year period, compared to those who did not participate.
“The Sooke Gathering Place’s community space will also provide the opportunity for inter-generational programs to help develop relationships between our youth and elders,” Dunn said. “Community is what adds quality of life for youth and elders and provides programming and a place to engage with each other.
“Resiliency helps us bounce back from difficult times in our lives,” she noted. “Resiliency in youth is strengthened through supportive relationships. healthy coping strategies, a sense of purpose, emotional self-awareness, and problem-solving skills. We believe that inter-generational programs will help develop these strategies and skills and foster the feeling of belonging in the community through the relationships they develop at the Sooke Gathering Place.”
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